LYTHRACE.^i:. (LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY.) 157 



•(- -1- Flowers i/ellow. 

 9. B. lutea, Walt. Stem at length much branched, 4-angled, bristly; 

 leaves smoothish, bristly serrulate, the lower ones obovate and obtuse, the 

 upper lanceolate and acute; cymes numerous; calyx short and smooth; 

 flowers small. — Pine barren swamps, Florida to North Carolina, and west- 

 ward. July -August. — Stem 1° high. Petals more persistent than those of 

 the other species. 



Order 58. LYTHRACE^E. (Loosestrife Family.) 



Chiefly herbs, with opposite or whoiied and entii-e leaves, without 

 stipules. Flowers mostly axillary. — Calyx tubular, persistent, 4-7- 

 toothed, free from the 2 --l-celled ovary. Petals as many as the teeth of 

 the calyx and inserted into its throat, deciduous, sometimes wanting. 

 Stameiis as many as the petals, or 2 - 4 times as many, inserted below 

 the petals. Anthers short, introrse. Style solitary. Capsule en- 

 closed in the calyx, 1 - 4-celled, few- or many-seeded. Placentae cen- 

 tral. Seeds anatropous, without albumen. — Sinuses of the calyx 

 often appendaged. Stigma capitate, or rarely 2-lobed. 



Synopsis. 



* Calyx regular. 



1. DIDIPLIS. CaljTc hemispherical. Petals none. Stigma 2-lobed. Capsule 2-ceUed. 



2. AMMANXIA. Calyx campanulate. Stigma capitate. Capsule 4-ceUed. 



3. LYTHRXJM. Calyx cylindrical, striate. Capsule obloug, 2-celled. 



4. NES.ffiA. Calyx short, even. Capsule globose, 3- o-celled. Stamens 10. 



* * Calyx gibbous at the base. 



5. CUPHEA. Calyx tubular, 12-ribbed. Stamens mostly 12. Capsule early ruptured. 



1. DIDIPLIS, Raf. 



Calyx hemispherical or campanulate, 4-lobed. Petals none. Stamens 2-4. 

 Style very short: stigma 2-lobed. Capsule globose, 2-celled. — A submerged 

 aquatic herb, with long filiform stems, opposite crowded pellucid linear leaves, 

 and minute sessile axillary flowers. 



1. D. linearis, IJaf. — Ponds and still water, West Florida to North 

 Carolina, and westward. June - August. — Stems \°-2° long. Leaves 1' 

 long, acute. Flowers not larger than a pin's head. 



2. AMMANNIA, Houston. 



Calyx globular or campanulate, 4-angled, 4-toothed, the sinuses commonly 

 furnished with a small horn-shaped appendage. Petals 4, small, deciduous, 

 sometimes wanting. Stamens 4, short. Stigma capitate. Capsule globular, 

 4celled, many-seeded. — Low smooth annual herbs, with opposite leaves, and 

 solitary or clustered axillary flowers. 



